031 赫拉的诡计

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" Whoa!" Brody said as gasps and exclamations rang out from all around

“哇！”布罗迪说道，周围响起一片惊呼声。

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Heracles was staring straight ahead, his expression stony

赫拉克勒斯直直地盯着前方，面无表情。

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Nearby, Iphicles was hiding his face in his hands and shaking his head

不远处，伊菲克勒斯双手掩面，摇着头。

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" This is bad," Julia muttered." This is really bad!"

“这下糟了，”朱莉娅咕哝着，“这下真的糟了！”

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" I know," Brody agreed." The gods' bet makes the Olympics seem like a football game that nobody can win

“我明白，”布罗迪应和道，“众神的赌局让这奥运会变得像一场谁也赢不了的足球赛。

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If I beat Heracles at even one event, he'll end up in that terrible Tartarus place."

哪怕我在一个项目上赢了赫拉克勒斯，他最后都得去那个可怕的塔尔塔洛斯。”

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Julia nodded." If that happens, he might never become the great hero he's supposed to be!"

朱莉娅点点头：“如果发生那种事，他可能永远也成不了他注定要成为的伟大英雄了！”

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" But if Heracles wins everything, Zeus might kill me or make me his slave," Brody reminded her

“可要是赫拉克勒斯全赢了，宙斯可能会杀了我或者让我当他的奴隶。”布罗迪提醒她。

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" I don't like the sound of that, either."

“听起来我也不喜欢那种下场。”

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" Neither do I. So what are we going to do?" Julia said." We need a plan."

“我也不喜欢。那我们该怎么办？”朱莉娅说，“我们得想个计划。”

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" There's nothing we can do," Markos said." Now that the stakes are higher, the other gods will work even harder to defeat Heracles

“我们什么也做不了，”马科斯说。“现在赌注加高了，其他神会下更大功夫去打败赫拉克勒斯。”

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We won't be able to stop them, and we will surely suffer if we try."

我们拦不住他们，要是去试的话，我们肯定会吃苦头。

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" But Heracles is our friend now," Julia argued." We can't just — "

“可赫拉克勒斯现在是我们的朋友，”朱莉娅分辩说。“我们不能就这么——”

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She stopped herself as Hermes flew over

赫尔墨斯飞过时，她止住了话。

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The wings on his sandals were fluttering so fast that Brody could hardly see them

他凉鞋上的翅膀扑扇得飞快，布罗迪几乎都看不清。

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" Come, boy." Hermes' eyes flashed with excitement

“过来，小子。”赫尔墨斯眼中闪着兴奋的光芒。

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" This bet makes things much more interesting, does it not?

“这场赌局让事情变得有意思多了，对不对？

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The champion who beats Heracles and sends him to Tartarus will become a legend

谁若能打败赫拉克勒斯并把他打进塔尔塔洛斯，谁就将成为传奇。

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And I wish that person to be my champion! Let's get back to training!"

我真希望那个人就是我的冠军！走，回去训练！”

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Over the next couple of days, Brody's life got even busier than it had been before

接下来几天里，布罗迪的日子过得比之前更忙了。

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Hermes made him train for hours each day. In the evenings the messenger god lectured Brody on strategies to beat Heracles

赫尔墨斯让他每天训练好几个小时。晚上，这位信使之神就给布罗迪讲解击败赫拉克勒斯的策略。

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It was pretty boring. Besides that, it left Brody no time to talk privately with Julia and Markos

这非常无聊。而且，这让布罗迪完全没有时间私下和朱莉娅、马科斯交谈。

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One morning at breakfast, Julia set a platter of barley cakes in front of Brody

一天早上吃早餐时，朱莉娅把一盘大麦饼放到布罗迪面前。

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Brody quickly looked around the table. Hermes had arrived, but he was busy talking to Caerus

布罗迪迅速地环视了一下餐桌。赫尔墨斯已经到了，但他正忙着和凯洛斯说话。

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" Listen," Brody whispered to Julia." What are we going to do about Heracles?"

“听我说，”布罗迪低声对朱莉娅说。“赫拉克勒斯的事，我们该怎么办？”

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" I don't know," Julia whispered back. She pretended to be serving more food so she could stand there for a minute

“我不知道，”朱莉娅也压低声音回答。她假装还要添菜，这样就能在那儿多站一会儿。

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" But Markos and I are thinking about a plan."

“但我和马科斯正在想一个计划。”

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" You'd better think fast," Brody said." The Olympics are only three days away!"

“你们最好快点想，”布罗迪说。“奥运会只剩三天了！”

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" Hurry and eat, my champion," Hermes called suddenly." We have much work to do today."

“快吃吧，我的冠军，”赫尔墨斯突然喊道。“今天我们还有很多事要做。”

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Brody started eating as Julia moved away. He knew he'd better eat fast

朱莉娅走开后，布罗迪开始吃东西。他知道自己最好赶紧吃完。

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Hermes was impatient, and yesterday he hadn't even let Brody stop for lunch

赫尔墨斯很不耐烦，昨天他甚至没让布罗迪停下来吃午饭。

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Training for the Olympics was hard enough without trying to do it on an empty stomach!

奥运会训练本来就够辛苦的，饿着肚子训练就更难了！

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By the time Brody returned to Markos' house that evening, he was exhausted

那天晚上，布罗迪回到马科斯家时，已经精疲力尽了。

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Hermes had made him practice every single event of the Games

赫尔墨斯让他把奥运会的每一个项目都练了一遍。

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Brody's cheek was bruised where Athena's champion had hit him during their boxing match

布罗迪的脸颊上有淤青，是拳击比赛时雅典娜的冠军打伤的。

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His leg throbbed where one of the chariot horses had kicked him

他的腿阵阵作痛，是战车赛时一匹马踢伤的。

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Every muscle in his body ached from running and wrestling and throwing things

他浑身每一块肌肉都因跑步、摔跤和投掷而酸痛。

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" I hope dinner is ready soon," he said, collapsing onto a bench in the courtyard

“我希望晚饭马上就好，”他说着一屁股瘫坐到院子里的长凳上。

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" I want to go to sleep before Hermes shows up again. He'll probably spend hours telling me about all the ways I can beat Heracles."

“我想在赫尔墨斯再出现之前睡一觉。他可能会花好几个小时告诉我打败赫拉克勒斯的所有方法。”

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" I'm glad Hermes let us walk home from the gymnasium by ourselves tonight," Julia said, glancing from Brody to Markos

“我很高兴赫尔墨斯今晚让我们自己从体育馆走回家，”朱莉娅说着，目光从布罗迪移向马科斯。

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" He's been hanging around so much that we've barely had a chance to talk

他一直在附近晃来晃去，我们几乎没机会说话。

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We still need to figure out what we're going to do about Hera's bet."

我们还得想出办法应对赫拉的赌约。”

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Brody didn't respond. He was sniffing the air

布罗迪没有回答。他正嗅着空气。

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" Do you guys smell something weird?" he asked." It definitely doesn't smell like dinner."

“你们有没有闻到一股怪味？”他问，“这肯定不是晚饭的味道。”

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Julia pointed a short distance away." Look!"

朱莉娅指向不远处：“看！”

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A thick cloud of white smoke was pouring into the courtyard

一大团白色的浓烟正涌入院子。

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Markos coughed." It smells like incense. But where is it coming from?"

马科斯咳嗽起来。“闻起来像熏香。但从哪儿来的？”

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Brody coughed too. The smoke was twirling around him now, making it hard to breathe. His lungs burned

布罗迪也咳了起来。烟雾正绕着他打转，让他呼吸困难，肺部灼痛。

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" Let's get out of here!" He choked out the words

“我们快离开这儿！”他艰难地挤出这句话。

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Suddenly the smoke disappeared, leaving Hermes in its place

突然烟雾消散，赫尔墨斯出现在了原地。

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" I have important news, my champion!" Hermes declared

“我有重要消息，我的冠军！”赫尔墨斯宣布。

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" I should have guessed the smoke was from Hermes," Markos muttered, his voice slightly hoarse." He has a special love for incense."

“我早该猜到这烟是赫尔墨斯弄的，”马科斯嘟囔着，声音有些沙哑，“他对熏香情有独钟。”

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Hermes waved a hand to silence Markos

赫尔墨斯一挥手，示意马科斯安静。

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" Did you not hear me? I have news!

“你没听见吗？我有消息！

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Hera has just announced that she'll host a banquet to honor all the athletes and their sponsors."

赫拉刚刚宣布，她要举办一场宴会，款待所有运动员和他们的赞助人。”

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" A banquet?" Brody's stomach grumbled. A big meal sounded pretty good just then." Is it tonight?"

“宴会？”布罗迪的肚子咕咕叫了起来。一顿大餐听起来真不错。“是今晚吗？”

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Hermes chuckled." I see that my champion is as eager to celebrate as I am."

赫尔墨斯轻声笑了。“看来我的冠军和我一样，都急着要去庆祝呢。”

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He clapped Brody on the back." The banquet is tomorrow evening."

他拍了拍布罗迪的后背。“宴会在明天晚上。”

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" Why is Hera hosting a banquet?" Julia asked

“赫拉为什么要举办宴会？”茱莉亚问。

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" Does that always happen before the Olympic Games?"

“奥运会前总会这样吗？”

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" No, this is the first time. I suspect she's trying to make Zeus look bad for not thinking of it first." Hermes smirked

“不，这是第一次。我怀疑她是想让宙斯难堪，因为他没先想到这个点子。”赫尔墨斯坏笑了一下。

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" But that won't stop everyone — even Zeus — from attending and having a splendid time."

“但这不会阻止大家——甚至包括宙斯——都来参加，并且玩个痛快。”

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Markos bowed to Hermes." I am certain that you and Brody will enjoy the festivities, Hermes."

马科斯向赫尔墨斯鞠了一躬。“赫尔墨斯，我相信你和布罗迪一定会享受这场盛会的。”

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" I'm certain of that too," Hermes said with a smile

“我也很确信，”赫尔墨斯微笑着说。

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" But you'll be able to see for yourself, my boy

“不过你可以自己亲眼看看，我的孩子。

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As Brody's companion, you shall attend as well."

作为布罗迪的同伴，你也应该出席。”

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" Really?" Markos' eyes lit up

“真的吗？”马科斯眼睛一亮。

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" Cool." Brody grinned at Markos." This banquet sounds like fun."

“酷。”布罗迪对马科斯咧嘴一笑。“这宴会听起来挺有意思的。”

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" What about me?" Julia asked." Can I come too?"

“那我呢？”茱莉亚问。“我也能来吗？”

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" You?" Hermes laughed." Don't be silly. Of course not!"

“你？”赫尔墨斯大笑起来。“别傻了。当然不行！”

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Brody was surprised." Why can't she come?"

布罗迪很惊讶。“她为什么不能来？”

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" Oh, you mortals!" Hermes kept chuckling." Excuse me, I want to see if dinner is ready

“哦，你们这些凡人！”赫尔墨斯继续咯咯地笑着。“失陪一下，我去看看晚饭好了没。

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Preparing my champion for Olympic glory is hungry work."

把我的冠军训练成奥林匹克英雄，可是很费体力的活。”